By Todd Paetznick, May 2, 2024

“Do not quench the Spirit, do not utterly reject prophecies, but examine everything; hold firmly to that which is good, abstain from every form of evil” (1Th 5:19-22 NASB20).

We are taught by the apostle Paul to abstain from every form of evil to test and authenticate the message and source of people claiming to be prophets and teachers.  What is the connection between abstaining from evil and authentication?  Bias.

Bias introduces vulnerability.  Too often, we see what we want to see and hear what we want to hear.  Bias is a kind of blindness that can lead to disaster in relationships, business, politics, and war.  In business, salespeople sometimes develop “happy ears,” meaning they hear what they hope to hear from a prospective customer conversation. This leads them to believe their customer will buy something from them, even when the customer never had that intention.  Self-protection is another kind of bias.  People sometimes fear delivering bad news because of possible negative repercussions.  The phrase “don’t shoot the messenger” comes from misplaced anger directed toward the deliverer of bad news.  The uncontrolled anger directed toward the messenger can lead to receiving no bad news being delivered, opening up vulnerabilities and sustaining the mistaken perception that there is no bad news.

The blindness caused by the bias of people in leadership positions (including parents) has a greater and broader impact than many realize.  Leaders need to remember they are always being watched.  People observe and learn from what is done and their leader’s actions and reactions in various circumstances.  Expectations for a leader’s future behavior are based on what is heard from others, what is seen, and what is experienced first-hand.  In acts of self-preservation, people avoid negative conversations and interactions when they have observed how bad news has been handled.  If all feedback is truly valued, including negative feedback, then prove it.  

Selfish behavior leads to bias, which causes blind spots and creates vulnerabilities.  Anyone who has spent time in the corporate world will have observed coin-operated people who do what benefits them the most without regard for the impact on other people, the customers, or even the company.  Employees in publicly traded companies, for example, notice when public disclosures are made about decisions that personally benefit company leadership in the form of bonuses and company stock at the expense of company employees.  The employees lose loyalty to the company when they realize they are little more than a number on a spreadsheet.  Decreased loyalty and poor attitudes lead to “highly valued” employees seeking employment elsewhere, leaving the formal company vulnerable to collapsing when there are not enough people to do the work that needs to be done.   As Paul advises, we must “abstain from every form of evil,” which includes avoiding greed, rage, injustice, revenge, character assassination, and many other sinful behaviors (1 Thessalonians 5:22).  

Power-hungry people who want to make a name for themselves and gain control over others create other vulnerabilities.  People with big egos have existed for thousands of years; egoism is not a modern malady.  A desire for power or fame can lead people to do unwise things.  In the Book of Esther, the enemy of the Jewish people was a man named Haman.  Haman had a big ego and a desire for power and personal recognition.  His desires worked against him when he wrongly assumed everyone shared his bias against the Jewish people.  Haman was hanged on the gallows he intended for his enemy.  

There is a scene in the first Star Wars movie (episode 4, Star Wars: A New Hope) where the Rebel forces discover a vulnerability in the design of the Death Star.  The Rebels form a plan to exploit the vulnerability.  Despite being greatly outnumbered and overpowered, Luke Skywalker and other fighters fly into battle against the evil Empire and Darth Vader.  Skywalker calls on the power of the Force to drop an explosive device at the precise location on the Death Star, which causes a chain reaction of explosions that destroys the Death Star.   

Vader did not tolerate people delivering bad news.  His behavior offers a classic case study of how not to manage people who deliver disappointing news.  People feared Vader’s use of the Force.  He was known to choke the life out of people or fling them against a wall if the message was not what he wanted to hear.  If people in Vader’s Empire knew of the vulnerability built into Death Star, they may not have wanted to deliver the news to Darth Vader out of fear.  And so, the vulnerability built into the Death Star was able to be exploited by Luke Skywalker and the Rebel forces.  

If you watch any Star Wars movies this weekend, recognizing Saturday as Star Wars Day, pay attention to vulnerabilities.  Then, take a few minutes to reflect on your own life and how your desires can lead to vulnerabilities that can be exploited by your enemies when you yield to temptation and do those things you know you should not do.  

May the fourth be with you.  (This coming Saturday, May 4^th, is Star Wars Day.)